Murine lupus nephritis: effects of cyclophosphamide on circulating and tissue bound immunoreactants

We investigated the effects of cyclophosphamide (Cy) on immunoreactants of plasma and kidney of mice with lupus nephritis. Cy therapy decreased plasma concentrations of IgG, but not the concentrations of anti-DNA antibodies, C3, and C1q reactive materials; in glomeruli deposits of immunoreactants were mesangial in location and decreased overall. Although Cy arrested the nephritis of NZB/W mice, the anti-DNA activity in the renal eluates was very low and comparable in untreated and in treated mice. Immune complex systems other than, or in addition to, DNA-anti-DNA are likely to play a role in the pathogenesis and course of murine lupus nephritis.